November 2012 is the time to apply for the Library Mobile App Student Competition that will be held in January andFebruary 2013. This is a call for undergraduate students to enter the competition.

Visit the web site at www.library.illinois.edu/studentapps for the competition details and to apply. Apply by Nov 17, 2012 for preferential consideration. Successful applicants will be notified by January 10,2013.

No coding experience is required for this competition; all that is needed are your great ideas for creating a killer mobile app to improve library services.Read on for more information and visit the web site…

Challenge: Design a mobile app to enhance student use of library resources and services.

The Library Mobile App Competition is designed to explore solutions to significant problems libraries are facing in making their collections and services available to students and researchers whenever and wherever they are needed. Undergraduate student teams will investigate these problems and have the opportunity to design mobile solutions that will enhance access to the millions of items and extensive research expertise available through the University Library system. Teams will compete for prizes and have the opportunity to have their great ideas rewarded and recognized.

No technical background or programming experience required! Student Teams will be asked to come up with models for mobile applications, some of which will later be coded by Library staff into fully functioning mobile apps. The competition provides a venue to express your creativity and gain practical experience solving real world problems faced by academic institutions.

Prizes: $750 for the first place team, $500 for the second place team, and $250 for the third places team. Additionally, all participants will have an opportunity to receive a $10 gift certificate for sharing their thoughts on the competition experience with the event organizers (through an interview).

Applying: Individuals or teams of up to 5 members can apply atwww.library.illinois.edu/studentapps. Teams of 3-5 members will be formed from all successful unpaired applicants during the Orientation session. You must be a currently enrolled Undergraduate student on the UIUC campus to qualify. Library employees are not eligible.

Applications will include: Student Name, Major, and a short description of why you are interested in mobile application design, what you see as the future of mobile computing, and what skills you would bring to a team for this competition. We are looking for individuals who work well in teams and can foster creativity, ideas, and can showcase the ideas in a final presentation. We hope to comprise teams from among broad discipline areas and experiences (including those who have no computing or programming knowledge).

Deadlines:Preference will be given to those applications received by November 17th, 2012. A limited number of applicants will be accepted into the competition. Successful applicants will be notified by January 10th of their acceptance, and orientation sessions will begin during the last 2 weeks of January, once classes are in session. Finals of the competition will be completed by the end of February.

Note: Results from interviews or the project may be disseminated in journal articles, conference presentations, and/or scholarly book chapters and in websites. Ideas from the competition may be developed into apps by the Library. Additionally, results and articles may be deposited in the Library’s Institutional Repository (IDEALS).

The Library Mobile App Student Competition is made possible with a grant from IMLS, Institute of Museum and Library Services.